HANOVER, N.H. -
The South Carolina men's soccer team suffered a 2-0 loss against Dartmouth in its opening match of the Dartmouth Classic on Friday evening in non-conference action at Burnham Field in Hanover, N.H.

"We continue to learn," South Carolina head coach Mark Berson said. "This was a tough lesson tonight. Dartmouth is a very good team; I give them a lot of credit. They came out and played well. We mismanaged the game in the first 15 minutes and that was costly for us. We made a couple of mistakes and they pounced, and after that we battled and I thought the guys showed a lot of heart, determination and some very good play."

The Gamecocks (1-3-0) were led offensively by sophomores Chipper Root and Bradlee Baladez with two shots each. South Carolina goalkeeper Alex Long collected three saves in net in the match.

Dartmouth's (1-1-1) Alex Adelabu scored the game winner just 41 seconds into the match, while Lucky Mkosana scored The Big Green's second goal, while also adding an assist. Netminder Noah Cohen collected two saves. Dartmouth held a 12-7 upperhand in shots in the contest.

Dartmouth marked the scoreboard within the first minute of play. Mkosana had an attempt on frame, which was saved by Long, but directly into the path of Adelabu who tallied the score for a 1-0 Dartmouth lead.

The Big Green pushed the lead to 2-0 in the 10th minute after Mkosana collected a loose ball, which was the result of a Gamecock defensive breakdown, within the 18-yard box and scored on a low shot for the 2-0 lead.

Both teams had their offensive chances the remainder of the half. Root forced Cohen to make a save in the 18th minute and defender Eric Martinez had a header sail wide of net at the 22-minute mark, before Dartmouth's Hoffman-Johnson had a shot blocked late in the half, but neither team marked the scoreboard as The Big Green held a 2-0 lead at halftime.

After Long made a stellar diving save on a half-volley shot by Mkosana in the 60th minute, Carolina nearly scored on a free kick opportunity just outside of the Dartmouth 18-yard box. After a foul by a Dartmouth defender, Baladez hit a strike on target to the upper corner of the far post, which was saved at the last minute by Cohen.

The team's traded possession through the remainder of the contest. Root had an attempt just over the crossbar and freshman forward Snoopy Davidson missed a header shot wide of frame but the Gamecocks were unable to mark the scoreboard and Dartmouth earned the 2-0 win.

South Carolina continues action at the Dartmouth Classic on Sunday when it faces Bradley at 11 a.m. Live stats will be available via the link on GamecocksOnline.com. No video will be available for Sunday's match vs. Bradley, however live updates will be available on the South Carolina men's soccer Facebook page, and Twitter page, @GamecockMSoccer.